Pages

Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros

Sunday, February 16, 2014

PAOK's 2-1 loss at Asteras allows Greek league leader Olympiakos to open up 20-point gap

by  Associated Press Asteras comes from behind to beat PAOK 2-1 Associated Press - 16 February 2014 15:02-05:00

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Dorin Goian and Juanma took advantage of some slack defending as Asteras came from a goal down to beat second-place PAOK 2-1 in the Greek league on Sunday.

Klaus Athanassiadis put PAOK ahead on the hour mark, only for Goian to level five minutes later and Juanma to score the winner in the 78th as Asteras remained fifth in the standings.

Defeat allowed leader Olympiakos, a 4-2 winner over Platanias on Saturday, to open up a 20-point gap over PAOK with nine rounds left.

Third-place Atromitos, which lost 1-0 at Levadiakos on Saturday, stayed two points behind PAOK.

Panathinaikos, which beat Panthrakikos 2-0 on Sunday, is fourth.

Elsewhere, Panetolikos beat Apollon 2-1 and the two bottom teams, Aris and Veria, played to a scoreless draw.

News Topics: Sports, Men's sports, Men's soccer, Soccer

People, Places and Companies: Greece, Western Europe, Europe

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.neurope.eu

Merkel blocks Greek aid ahead of EU elections

AFPMerkel blocks Greek aid ahead of EU electionsThe Local.deFinance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble had wanted to give the ailing Greek government a "demonstration of solidarity" by committing this spring to further support from Europe, Der Spiegel magazine reported. "He sees the danger that without the prospect of ...No, no, no, says German Chancellor Angela Merkel to more aid for GreeceGreek ReporterGerman government dispute over child porn probeWPECall 108 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thelocal.de

Samsung has two-pronged interest in investing in Greece

KathimeriniSamsung has two-pronged interest in investing in GreeceKathimeriniSamsung Electronics Hellas may be keepin mum about its parent company's plans, but the Greek-Korean plan is in full swing, with Samsung showing a two-pronged interest in Greece: The first concerns the company's research and development sector, and ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Greek Movie Awarded in Berlin Film Festival

The movie of Yannis Economides, “Little Fish,” which was nominated for best film, didn’t receive any award. The Chinese movie, “Black Coal, Thin Ice” by Diao Yinan won the Golden Bear for Best Film, while “The Grand Budapest Hotel ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT eu.greekreporter.com

Greek Australian Lydia Ierodiaconou Wins Bronze Medal in Sochi

The 32-year-old Greek-Australian freestyle aerial skier, Lydia Ierodiaconou, won the bronze medal in the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. Alla Tsuper from Belarus won the golden medal and the Chinese Xu Mengtao, the silver.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT au.greekreporter.com

Greek Farmers Block Athens with Tractors

Greek ReporterGreek Farmers Block Athens with TractorsGreek ReporterAfter unsuccessful negotiations between representatives of Greek farmers unions and the ministers Yannis Stournaras and Athanasios Tsaftaris, the farmers announced that they will be escalating their protests. Greek farmers decided to continue their ...Wary Greeks say economy can only improveThe Sofia GlobeSkepticism in Brussels over early primary surplus estimatesKathimeriniall 4 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Greek Finance Ministry's Employees Accused of Tax Evasion

Greek ReporterGreek Finance Ministry's Employees Accused of Tax EvasionGreek ReporterGreek authorities have found 143 employees of the Finance Ministry who had deposits amounting to 32 million euros in Swiss, German, British and Cypriot bank accounts. The audits began when the Minister of Administrative Reform, Kyriakos Mitsotakis ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Grace Hotels to Build new Hotel in Kalamata

Grace Hotels on Friday announced an investment of 80 million euros for the construction of a new hotel in Kalamata, Greece. The hotel complex will be operational in 2017 and will include a new hotel unit ad well as holiday villas for sale. The Grace Kalamata hotel will be located in the outskirts of Kalamata and will have 125 luxury rooms and suites and 40 villas (three-, four- and five-bedroom). Grace Hotels is part of LibraGroup, an international business group owned by Logothetis family. The group opened its first hotel in Cyclades in 2007 and has expanded in North America, Asia, South America and Northern Africa ever since. (source: ana-mpa)

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Merkel vetoes quick aid for Greece

Merkel vetoes quick aid for GreeceGlobalPostGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel has blocked a bid by her powerful finance minister to offer fresh aid to Greece ahead of European elections in May, Der Spiegel magazine reported Sunday. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble had wanted to give the ...and more »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.globalpost.com

Concerns about Ground Zero Architect

NEW YORK – Santiago Catralava, the prominent architect selected to design the New St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at Ground Zero, has a record replete with problematic projects and designs and legal problems, TNH has learned. De Zeen Magazine’s January 2 article, “Newer Story Older Story, Valencia to sue Calatrava over Falling Masonry at City […]

The post Concerns about Ground Zero Architect appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Mouskondis Achievement Gets Attention

NEW YORK – When the president wants to show the world the American Dream is alive and well, he does well to look into the Greek-American community. Peter Mouskondis of Salt Lake City, UT were invited to Washington to sit in the special box with First Lady Michelle Obama during last week’s State of the […]

The post Mouskondis Achievement Gets Attention appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Samaras Says Surplus 1.5B Euros, Relief For Austerity Victims Due

With critical May elections looming for municipalities and the European Parliament as his ruling New Democracy has have fallen behind in polls, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said the country's primary surplus - not counting interest on debt and a slew of other costs - has passed 1.5 billion euros.

The post Samaras Says Surplus 1.5B Euros, Relief For Austerity Victims Due appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

SYRIZA Won’t Pay The Troika

If he comes to power, opposition Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) leader Alexis Tsipras said he would swiftly move to do away with the terms of two bailouts of $325 billion from the Troika.

The post SYRIZA Won’t Pay The Troika appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Olympiakos Beats Platanias, 4-2

ATHENS – With senior Olympiakos players rested for the Champions League round of 16, it took a 37-year-old who seldom leaves the bench to wake up his team and ensure a 4-2 victory over visiting Platanias in the Greek league. When Argentine midfielder Ariel Ibagaza checked in in the 66th minute, the score had been […]

The post Olympiakos Beats Platanias, 4-2 appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Greek opposition says will try to force election

Greek opposition leader Alexis Tsipras said on Sunday he will not support any candidate for president in spring 2015, in the hope of forcing a parliamentary election. The Greek parliament needs 180 votes to select a president but the government has only 153 seats. This means that the necessary parliamentary majority to elect a president will not be there ... There will have to be new elections ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT news.yahoo.com

Greek Budget Surplus Beats Target

Greek Budget Surplus Beats TargetWall Street JournalATHENS—Greece's primary budget surplus for 2013 will be nearly double its target, the country's prime minister said Sunday. Antonis Samaras said the primary budget surplus, which doesn't take into account interest payments, will exceed €1.5 billion ...Greek PM says budget surplus tops forecast, allows spendingReutersGreek budget surplus topped 1.5 bln euros in 2013, PM claimsNew Straits Timesall 19 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT online.wsj.com

Israelis tried to send arms to Iran via Greece, probe finds

KathimeriniIsraelis tried to send arms to Iran via Greece, probe findsKathimeriniIsraeli arms dealers tried to send spare parts for F-4 Phantom aircraft via Greece to Iran in violation of an arms embargo, according to a secret probe by the US government agency Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) carried out in cooperation with ...and more »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Nigeria to play Greece and USA in World Cup warm-up event

BBC SportNigeria to play Greece and USA in World Cup warm-up eventBBC SportNigeria will play friendly internationals against Greece and the United States in June as part of their warm-up for this year's World Cup. The African Champions will play Greece in Philadelphia on 3 June then face USA in Jacksonville, Florida on 7 June.and more »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bbc.co.uk

Restaurant family brings Greek fare to Central Texas

Restaurant family brings Greek fare to Central TexasKilleen Daily HeraldFrank Beqiri, owner of Acropolis prepares, a popular fresh chicken style greek dish while preparing for the evening rush, Wednesday, February 12, 2014 in Harker Heights. Acropolis is a new Greek style restaurant. Buy this photo · Acropolis. Herald ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT kdhnews.com

Greece's Tourism: From 33000 Visitors in 1950 to 18 Million in 2014

Greek ReporterGreece's Tourism: From 33000 Visitors in 1950 to 18 Million in 2014Greek ReporterOf course, the situation in Greece at that time was totally different; the country was trying to heal its wounds caused by the Civil War and the World War while the Greeks were seeking better days. Even if the tourism enterprises in Greece were not ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Greek budget surplus topped 1.5 bln euros in 2013, PM claims

Greece in 2013 registered a budget surplus of more than 1.5 billion euros ($2.05 billion), exceeding requirements for additional debt aid, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Sunday. A month earlier, Samaras had placed the primary surplus -- a budget surplus not counting debt servicing costs -- at around 500 million euros.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT news.yahoo.com

Greek seaside town suffers from high unemployment

Greek seaside town suffers from high unemploymentTulsa WorldIn this Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014 photo a boy walks a dog outside his house as his uncle rides a scooter next to fuel storage tanks in the depressed Perama area, on the fringes of Athens' port of Piraeus. For Perama, the ships have sailed. Until ...and more »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.tulsaworld.com

Global X Funds (GREK) news: Greek budget surplus tops €1.5B in 2013

Global X Funds (GREK) news: Greek budget surplus tops €1.5B in 2013Seeking AlphaGreek budget surplus tops €1.5B in 2013. Feb 16 2014, 03:44 ET. Greece achieved a primary budget surplus - which excludes interest payments - of over €1.5B ($2.1B) in 2013, well above an initial forecast of €344M that was made in October, Prime ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT seekingalpha.com

Greek gods and ancient Greece – news and resources round up

The discovery of a statue of Apollo is the perfect excuse to teach ancient Greece to your students. Here's our collection of links, news and lesson plans to help you A rare bronze statue of the Greek god Apollo was discovered this week in the Gaza strip ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com

Haunted survivors of Homs emerge from hiding as fragile truce holds

Lyse Doucet, the BBC's chief international correspondent, has covered the operation to free starving Syrians from the besieged city. Here she describes one dramatic day in a terrifying week

Six hundred days had passed under a punishing siege in the ravaged Old Quarter in Homs. It was the sixth day in a rebel-held area cut off by government troops. But a vital "humanitarian pause" to get more aid in, and bring more people out, could not and would not be rushed.

Last Wednesday every minute mattered. Just past midnight, there was a rush and a roar in the dimly lit lobby of Homs's Safir hotel, situated in the relative safety of a government-controlled area. It was now the UN's field headquarters and unlikely nerve centre for implementing a temporary truce in a city that has seen some of the worst fighting in Syria's brutal war.

Syrian intelligence official Deeb Zeitoun, the only brown suit in a swarm of black uniforms, swept past the scattered tables where the last stragglers lingered long into the night. Aid workers, journalists and spooks, hunched over computers, coffee and cigarettes, took note.

President Bashar al-Assad's man from Damascus had arrived to ensure nothing went wrong on this day of operations. He went straight into negotiations with the UN's resident humanitarian co-ordinator, Yacoub el-Hillo and the governor of Homs, Talal al-Barazi.

A few miles way, in the ruins of the Old City, rebel commanders were in contact with the UN by telephone and Skype from basement bunkers in a wasteland where not a single building still stood intact after 18 months of brutal battle. And in distant capitals many were watching to see whether this deal to rescue the most vulnerable in the Old City would be wrecked by the most powerful. "The whole world is watching and people inside are waiting," Hillo told me.

"But the longer this mission goes on, the more sensitive it becomes," regretted the veteran UN official from Sudan, who has done time in many of the world's warzones but said he that he had never seen a scene as horrific as the Old City.

Barazi vowed the "truce would go on for as long as necessary to ease the suffering there". A bear of a man, he was constantly on the move, his expressions changing from grimace to wide grin.

The past week had been hailed as a rare glimmer of light in the midst of a dark devastating war. By Wednesday, 1,200 people had managed to escape an ancient quarter once full of life and beloved by Syrians for its welcoming cafes and atmospheric alleyways. Now it's a forbidding enclave without electricity and running water, where food is scarce, and the last functioning hospital is known as "a place to die".

A deal negotiated between the UN and the warring parties was a rescue plan for women, children, the elderly, and ill. Men over the age of 15 and under the age of 55 were told that if they wanted to leave they had to send their names out first.

"They were informed that once they sent their names, they would be checked and within six hours they would be told whether they were on a wanted list," explained one official.

On day one of this truce, the first Syrians to timidly cross into a desolate no man's land between rebel positions and army posts came under sniper fire.

On day three, hundreds of residents were transported to safety across this last dangerous stretch in the UN's white armoured vehicles.

A day later there was a desperate stampede as residents hurtled toward the convoy, dragging bags bulging with their most essential belongings. Then they advanced nervously on foot, sandwiched between the two lines of armoured escort vehicles.

But it was the second day of this truce that loomed large. That Saturday, more than a dozen UN and Syrian Arab Red Crescent (Sarc) workers barely managed to escape from the Old City with their lives.

Mortars had landed in the distance, at midday, as soon as an advance convoy moved into the rebel stronghold. At dusk, when trucks carrying food finally reached the main distribution point, the missiles killed two people instantly and injured many others. Mortar rounds and gunfire then pinned down the aid team for hours.

Three tyres were blown on the armoured vehicle used by Hillo, his deputy, Matthew Hollingworth, of the UN's World Food Programme, their Syrian driver and an Arab security adviser.

The UN flag that had covered the car's bonnet now lay flat across the front windscreen. Visibility was blocked except for a small hole. To get out of the vehicle to remove it meant entering the snipers' sight. "We have a choice," Hillo told his driver. "We abandon the vehicle or we drive out at 50mph."

Drive out they did, in the darkness, in their eight-vehicle convoy. "I am your eyes," the security officer reassured the driver. Their crippled vehicle lumbered forward, lights full on. "Right! Left!" the security man barked from the front seat as he strained to peer through the window.

Sources confirmed these attacks were the work of a local paramilitary group known as the National Defence Force determined to scupper a deal it saw as feeding and freeing their enemies. "All the devils in this crisis will always try to hinder our work," Sarc's head of operations, Khaled Erksoussi, told me on the telephone line from Damascus with a voice tinged with exhaustion and anger.

There are no angels in this war, only what one aid official called "good people in a very bad situation" on both sides of a bitter divide were determined to carry on.

By Wednesday, lessons had been learned. On the edge of the Old City, bundles of food and medicine were unloaded from lorries, and passed along a chain of Sarc volunteers on to two trailers. Supplies would be towed in by the UN's armoured vehicles.

In the hours that followed we could hear occasional gunfire. "Are they OK?" I asked a UN official. "They're fine," he said. "They're unloading the food."

Intelligence and military officials sped back and forth with the governor and his entourage. Christian clergy, black robed and white bearded, paced the dirt road, talking on mobile phones, worried expressions on their faces.

"Some rebel groups inside are trying to stop members of our Christian community from leaving," George abu Zakhem, head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Homs, lamented as he tried to oversee the rescue of 53 Christians still trapped inside.

Sources say that a small group of fighters, angry that they had not been consulted in the negotiations, were trying to hold some people back.

Then, by mid-afternoon, as the sun started sinking in the sky, the empty trailers that had carried supplies in rattled by, and the UN's armoured vehicles rolled up. This time, they had taken people out to waiting buses. Armoured vehicles shielded them from pro-government sniper fire. Three vehicles at the rear of the convoy were a defence against any moves by rebels inside the city.

The heavy armoured doors then opened outside the reception centre, and so did a small window on a place left behind of untold privations. Young and old men lay bandaged on stretchers, or were eased into waiting wheelchairs.

Then three buses pulled up, their curtains drawn. People trapped for nearly two years waited a moment longer while Sarc volunteers again linked arms to form a protective tunnel through the waiting crowd. When the door opened, a stream of young men leapt out, anxious to disappear from view, as they hurried into the banquet hall. Soldiers waiting nearby leaned forward, hoping to catch a glimpse of men who had taken up arms against them. A few raised their own cameras in the media scrum.

Barazi raised his megaphone: "This area is for the UN and Red Crescent," he declared. "Anyone in a uniform, with weapons, should leave."

A few children, with eyes that had long lost any sparkle, were the last to disembark, shepherded by anxious mothers.

Inside a cavernous banquet hall with empty fountains and shimmering chandeliers, the young men gathered on one side along long wooden tables, their families on the other. They all fell upon their first proper meal for as long as they could remember.

"It was very, very, very difficult life, a miserable life," one man with hollow face and shrunken shoulders told me as he sat with his wife and children, who didn't look up. "We were living on grass boiled with water."

All the children around the tables were brown-faced with the layers of dirt and grime that comes from not having water to wash.

When bright coloured balloons intended to inject some fun burst loudly nearby some children instinctively shouted: "Takbeer" – an Islamic invocation they'd learned to voice when the missiles landed close to what was left of their homes.

When we approached a table of young men, we were greeted with warm smiles even as a plainclothed officer from the intelligence services leaned forward to listen to our conversation. One man bravely piped up. "I am nervous and fearful of my future," he said. "I was stuck in the Old City and haven't done my military service."

When their meals finished, all the men were taken to the al Andalus school, a makeshift informal detention centre but also a shelter. Those with families all went together.

As the clock struck midnight on Wednesday, UN officials were at that school along with the governor to see how the men were faring, and to send a message that the UN was watching this process carefully.

Outside Syria, there was a rising hue and cry over the expected detention and mistreatment of the men. And there was anguished debate in UN circles over whether this was the kind of deal they should have be part of.

Barazi kept insisting most would be freed, but some would be put on trial for "terrorism, criminal activities and sabotage". Hillo said that the next time efforts would be made to include the International Committee of the Red Cross, mandated to deal with prisoners and their rights. But he said this was a deal to save lives that "had to be done"

"Wednesday," he said, "was a good day, an exemplary day." Food and medicine went in, and people safely came out. Now there is the nearly 2,000 people still stuck inside the Old City, and the rest of Syria to worry about.

SyriaMiddle East and North AfricaLyse Doucettheguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com

Eureka College production of Greek classic adds circus flair

Eureka College production of Greek classic adds circus flairPeoria Journal StarEUREKA — The Eureka College Theatre Department will put a modern spin on an ancient Greek classic when it presents "The Frogs" by Aristophanes at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25 through March 1 and 2 p.m. March 2 in Pritchard Theatre. Eureka College theater ...and more »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.pjstar.com

Cyprus-Switzerland Agreement on Repatriation of Antiquities

On January 11, Cyprus and Switzerland signed an agreement on the import and repatriation of  the antiquities of two countries that date back to prehistoric times and up to 1500 AD. The agreement which comes into effect from Saturday on, prohibits  the import of Cypriot and Swiss cultural property to the two states in cases where the country of origin isn’t complying with the regulations. Moreover, it enforces the cooperation on the repatriation of illegally exported cultural properties and it promotes scientific cooperation and archaeological exchanges between the two countries. The Memoranda of Understanding, together with agreement between the two countries — concluded by Cyprus and other countries — plays an important role in the protection of Cyprus’s cultural heritage and the prevention of illicit trafficking of cultural treasures which are targeted by smugglers. The two countries stressed the need to protect Greece and Cyprus’ cultural heritage as pillaging incidents have increased. In the northern part of Cyprus, museums and many private collections have been robbed, icons and vessels have been stolen, church frescoes and mosaics have been removed. Many of these items are often found in illegal markets and auctions across the world. The most severe damage has been observed in Greek orthodox churches which have been vandalized and used as mosques, stables and military camps.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Now Anastasiades Sleeps With The Enemy

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades will succeed in his burning desire to reunify the island, whose northern third is still occupied by a standing Turkish army and unlawful invaders, right about the time Greece gets back Istanbul, which it still calls Constantinople, believing it’s 1453. Anastasiades needs something he can call a victory because he’s been distracted from the Cyprus Problem since being elected last February and immediately reneging on his vow not to confiscate people’s bank accounts to save the banks from their own negligent mistakes. That was in giving bad loans to Greek businesses and buying Greek bonds that became as valuable as Confederate dollars after former Greek finance chief Evangelos Venizelos devalued them by 74 percent in a failed bid to make a dent in his country’s runaway debt. Bank account seizures was Anastasiade’s first mistake, compounded by not going after the bankers who brought their institutions and the country’s economy to the edge of ruin. Now he’s about to make a bigger one, and if he succeeds, he will go down in history as the man who sold out Cyprus, a title that his predecessor, Demetris “Commie” Christofias so dearly wished he could hold. Anastasiades has agreed to peace talks with his Turkish-Cypriot counterpart Dervis Eroglu, a hardliner who won’t give in on any points for any reason unless Turkey wins. That strategy so frustrated Christofias – who was even willing to have a Turk be the President of Cyprus every other term – that he threw up his hands in prayer to Stalin and decided not to run for re-election. It won’t be Anastasiades and Eroglu who do the real negotiating after establishing a blueprint that already calls for two separate countries to be under one alleged federal roof – except with the right to supercede the laws they don’t like, which will be most of them. Technocrat talkers will handle the fine details after being given marching orders: the Cypriots by Anastasiades, and Eroglu by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who’s already declared, “There is no country called Cyprus,” which could make negotiating a little tough if your opposite is invisible or doesn’t exist. But this is the way the Turkish side does business: our way or the highway, and Anastasiades has already put his country on that highway to hell by believing anything will come out of these talks that will be anything but one-sided and in the Turkish-Cypriot favor. That includes allowing Turks who occupy the homes of Cypriots to keep them, and throw the real owners a couple of bucks in compensation for losing the place where they lived. Anastasiades has to deal with Cypriots old enough to remember the unlawful 1974 invasion and who want an accounting of 1,619 of their missing countrymen, many allegedly carted off to Turkish prisons after the United States and England gave the green light for the invasion. It’s unspecified yet, and the talks are mutable, but if Anastasiades allows a Turkish-Cypriot to be President of Cyprus then Cyprus effectively will, as Erdogan wants, cease to exist and Turkey will have occupied the island by proxy, without firing another shot. Any agreement would have to go to a referendum, as did the tragically flawed Annan Plan in 2004 which was a giveaway to the Turks and so lopsided that 76 percent of the Cypriots voted against it. Fewer will this time because there’s a generation of them who don’t care what happened almost 40 years ago as long as they can get Spotify on their computers. If someone invaded your house in 1974 and his children or grandchildren are still up in the second floor there, what Anastasiades is ready to do is let them come down and have kitchen and TV privileges – and take half your income, all in the name of settling a problem that wasn’t that of the Cypriots making. The Turkish-Cypriots will agree to almost anything because it will be in their favor, but also because their side is as bad off economically as the other side of the Green Line in Nicosia separating them, and Turkey wants to get into the European Union, although it doesn’t recognize Cyprus which is, and bars Cypriot ships and planes from entering. If Turkey didn’t allow French or German ships or planes and declared it didn’t recognize either country, the EU wouldn’t even be talking to Ankara, but Cyprus is so tiny that it doesn’t really count and was an afterthought entry into the bloc. And yet Greece supports Turkey’s admission. There’s a lot of people who are ready for almost any agreement because they’re weary of four decades of going nowhere, and to them the invasion was ancient history. So is the fall of Constantinople 561 years ago but Greeks haven’t forgotten that. Within 24 hours of setting down a blueprint for the talks, Anastasiades was already under attack in his own country and had to go on TV to defend the indefensible and why he was in bed with people who want the whole house. “We need guarded optimism… I don’t want to appear pessimistic, but there is hard work to be done,” he said. He had to explain a joint communique he and Eroglu issued, kick-starting talks delayed two years because Eroglu wasn’t talking to Christofias. Greek Cypriot critics say the negotiations would lead to a two-state solution through the back door and Anastasiades and Eroglu said that a settlement would be based on a “bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with political equality … with constituent Greek and Turkish Cypriot states.” When you’re talking unification or reunification, the word “bi” means you’re not. There’s no separate but equal. There’s just separate, and that’s the way Cyprus is going stay unless the smell of oil and gas reserves off its coast draws the greedy. That prospect drove the UN to push the start of these talks again because there’s money to be had off Cyprus and it’s not just the Turks who want it, but American and Israeli and international companies. The reason no one has been able to solve this conundrum is because it can’t be solved without selling out the Cypriots, which the UN, US, UK, NATO and European Union would dearly love to do so Turkey would be appeased, become a member of the EU and kick billions into the coffers of Brussels so politicians could keep traveling first-class and stay at five-star hotels. It got so frustrating that the UN’s envoy, Alexander Downer, just recently threw up his hands and quit, finally understanding that, as Zorba said, “On a deaf man’s door you can knock forever.” Hear that, Mr. President?

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Increasing Number of Abandoned Children in Greece

The current crisis in Greece has not only caused financial problems but social ones as well. The number of homeless people has increased and the rates of suicides is rising. Another phenomenon currently on the rise is the abandonment of children and babies. According to an extensive Washington Post article, the number of children left outside churches, hospitals and charity centers, is increasing since many Greek parents can’t afford the cost of raising a child. “Either deserted at maternity wards days after their birth, bundled inside pillowcases, or packed in cardboard boxes dumped on the doorsteps of churches, clinics and charity centers, abandoned babies are turning up all over the country,” says the article, adding that the Greek Health Minister, Adonis Georgiadis has reported that the number of deserted infants has increased by 336% since the start of the crisis. The article also mentions that state orphanages can’t provide proper care to children due to their soaring number and budget cuts. Many of them are neglected and malnourished. In the past, most of abandoned children came from abuse or drug-addicted families. “Now the scope of the problem, the severity of the cases, and the lack of social services have been amplified by austerity and growing middle-class poverty,” marks the article. Stelios Sifnos, Director of Social Work and Research at the SOS Children’s Villages charity, said to Washington Post: “It is the most tragic human consequence of the financial crisis. There is urgent need for action.”

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

In Greece, Alarming Rise in Number of Abandoned Babies

ATHENS – The latest heartbreaking byproduct of the Greek crisis is the alarming rise of abandoned children – particularly babies – throughout the country. Often left behind at maternity wards only days after being born, hidden inside pillowcases, or left inside cardboard boxes at the stoops of churches, clinics and charity centers, abandoned babies are […]

The post In Greece, Alarming Rise in Number of Abandoned Babies appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Kiriakou: Letter from Loretto Jail

Our exclusive interview with John Kiriakou – the former CIA agent who is serving a 30-month prison sentence in Loretto, PA – which was published this weekend in our Greek and English editions, is significant if somewhat disturbing. Whether one agrees or disagrees with his words, they are indisputably thoughtful and rooted in a system […]

The post Kiriakou: Letter from Loretto Jail appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Greece Reports 1.5 Million Euro Surplus – Three Times What Originally Expected

ATHENS – For the first time in more than a decade, Greece has a budget surplus of 1.5 million euro, said Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, the International Business Times reported. Samaras said that the estimated surplus is three times as large as his government had originally anticipated, the Times reported. Under the bailout terms established […]

The post Greece Reports 1.5 Million Euro Surplus – Three Times What Originally Expected appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Averoff Xinomavro, 2007 – Elegant and Expressive, Even Better the Next Day!

The Katogi Averoff winery is located in the picaresque mountain village of Metsovo, and produces a range of fine Greek wines with fruit sourced from vineyards in a number of wine growing regions throughout the country. This particular selection is produced from Xinomavro grapes grown in the Naoussa region, specifically Rountina, an area with a […]

The post Averoff Xinomavro, 2007 – Elegant and Expressive, Even Better the Next Day! appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Ancient Egyptian School's Walls Bear Greek Texts, Graffiti, & Reference To ...

Greek ReporterAncient Egyptian School's Walls Bear Greek Texts, Graffiti, & Reference To ...Huffington PostThe three-room building contains several walls bearing handwritten Greek inscriptions. "In the main room there is a text on the wall, five columns of it, written in red ink in impeccable elegiac verses," Cribiore told HuffPost Science. "It was probably ...Greek Texts on Ancient Egyptian School WallsGreek Reporterall 3 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.huffingtonpost.com